Air Force None? Qatar’s ‘gift’ jet to Donald Trump is a $1 bn bust, won’t fly before 2029

A $400 million Boeing 747-8, gifted from the Gulf state of Qatar, sounds like presidential perfection until you see the fine print. 

As revealed in a investigation by The New York Times, the jet being floated for Donald Trump as a potential Air Force One is less a diplomatic windfall than a financial and security nightmare. 

Converting it into a functioning presidential aircraft could cost over $1 billion, take at least three years, and still leave Trump grounded before the end of a second term.

According to The Times, the Qatari 747 is indeed plush—outfitted for royalty, dripping in luxury. But that’s exactly the problem. Former Pentagon officials and aerospace experts told the paper that the aircraft would need to be torn down to its frame and rebuilt from scratch to meet Air Force One standards.

That overhaul would include:

• Missile defense systems and EMP shielding
• Military-grade encrypted communications
• A secure command suite for wartime response
• Aerial refueling systems
• Full medical emergency capabilities
• Comprehensive anti-surveillance reengineering

One aerospace consultant likened the project to “rebuilding a flying fortress from the inside out.” Cost estimates start at $1 billion, with timelines stretching well into 2028 or beyond—effectively disqualifying the jet for any near-term presidential role.

The New York Times emphasized the national security risks tied to accepting a foreign-owned aircraft. Every inch of the plane would need to be scoured for embedded spyware or surveillance hardware. “You don’t take delivery of a presidential aircraft from a foreign power,” a former Air Force official told the paper. “You rebuild it yourself—or you don’t fly it.”

As The Times outlines, Trump’s interest in the Qatari jet comes as Boeing’s official Air Force One program faces massive delays. Originally contracted at $3.9 billion in 2018 with a 2024 delivery target, the project has been hit by pandemic fallout, supply chain meltdowns, and bankrupt subcontractors.

Now, deliveries of the new Air Force One jets are not expected until 2027 at the earliest, with The Times citing sources who warn the handover could slip to 2029 or later. That means Trump—if re-elected—might end a second term without ever stepping onto a new presidential jet.

The Qatari jet may have made headlines as a “gift,” but The Times makes it clear: this is no shortcut. With a conversion price tag that could exceed the cost of a new Air Force One and a timeline that lags behind Boeing’s already-delayed project, the luxury aircraft is more political burden than airborne blessing.

As aerospace engineer Marc Foulkrod bluntly told The New York Times, “It is ridiculous. That’s a better dollar value than trying to take an airplane from somebody else and trying to make it into a presidential plane. It makes no sense.”